An honest SetPower RV45s 12V Fridge Review by full-time travelers Alex and Megan from Slow Roamers.
I’ve been asked many times, “What are the modifications/ items I should get first to start vanlife (overlanding, living on the road)?” Invariably, I tell people, don’t go and spend a bunch of money right off the bat, start inexpensive and figure out if it’s for you first. But, if there are two items I would say are a great start they would be an awning and a 12v fridge.
About 12V Fridges
I’m not here to talk about awnings in this article, but I am here to talk about 12v fridges. Having an onboard 12v refrigerator is an immediate and easy road-life upgrade that can be applied to pretty much any vehicle. Having the ability to cool your beer, meat, veggies, soda’s, etc, is SO nice. In classic RV’s you typically see a two or three-way fridge. These run on a mix of 12 volts and propane or 110v AC power if you’re plugged into shore power. With today’s innovations in 12-volt accessories, there are a myriad of fridge options ranging in size from 10QT to 80QT behemoths, all with the ability to be plugged into your cigarette lighter. The beauty of these fridges is that if you are running them from your starting battery, it’s just a matter of unplugging them when you’re not driving and you still have a very effective cooler. 12-volt fridges typically are quite efficient, only pulling 5-7 amps at peak performance and remaining cool for hours.
SetPower RV45s 12V Fridge
We chose to partner with the brand SetPower and currently have their RV45S 12-volt fridge perched between the driver and passenger seat in the van. The 45S is a 47QT (45L) 12-volt fridge. The reason we chose this particular fridge is because it doesn’t have all the knick-knacks and doodads that the others do. It’s got a steel casing and straight walls and is big enough to store (mostly) all of what we need to keep food cold. I like the fridge but I certainly don’t think it’s the best fridge on the market and there are things that can be improved; however, here are some cool features.
Key Features of the SetPower RV45s 12V Fridge
The 45S has stainless steel clasps and handles. Not plastic, BIG bonus. There is a convenient little LED light that comes on inside when you open the lid, this is ideal when opening the fridge at night. I cannot convey the struggle I had trying to find stuff in our old fridge at night, it was like staring into an abyss. As mentioned, the 45S has straight walls, which means very little wasted space. I don’t understand why so many fridges have angled walls or fancy plastic molding, it’s a fridge, not an AIR Jordan shoe. The 47QT(45L) capacity is cool, but they could easily offer a taller fridge with bigger capacity in the same basic form, why they don’t, I have no idea. Lastly, the price of the fridge on the SetPower website is $399 USD (they don’t ship this fridge to Canada, FYI), which I think is totally fair for this size fridge.
Cons of the SetPower RV45s 12V Fridge
The cons of the fridge don’t number all that high. Mainly, the fridge cycles quite often. This may be a settings problem or it may be completely unrelated to the fridge itself. The compressor fan will eventually get a little loud; I imagine this is just due to a lower-quality compressor than some of the leading manufacturers. I don’t think the 45S is as efficient as competitors, especially when it’s cycling as often as it does in our van, the walls could likely have thicker foam in them.
Those things aside, overall, we’re pretty happy with this very basic fridge. I preach simplicity and this fridge does simple quite well. I’d recommend the RV45S if you’re already into road life and you’re looking to upgrade to something a little lower profile. If you’re just getting started, go with something smaller and less expensive to start. Either way, if you’re planning to add a 12-volt fridge to your vehicle, you’re in for a big upgrade. Cracking a cold one right from the fridge at a beautiful vista and not having to deal with bags of ice is worth it.
Thanks for reading! For visuals, check out the video I made about the SetPower RV45s 12V Fridge.
Purchase the SetPower RV45s 12V Fridge on Amazon.
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